Background Guide UNGA

7/27/2019 Background Guide UNGA

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UNITED NATIONSGENERAL ASSEMBLY

Background Guide

- JKMUN13 -`


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[UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY] JKMUN 2013

Table of Contents

Letter from the Executive Board.......3

Committee Background..............4

Agenda...................................................5

Discussing The Agenda ......................................................... ....7

Some Terrorist Groups ~

CPI....................................................................................8

Hezbollah..........................................................................9Al-Qaeda..........................................................................10

LTTE................................................................................11

RIRA................................................................................12

Funding Of Terrorism........13

Points tobe Consider.................14


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Letter from the executive board

Dear delegates,

After the roaring success of the past eight sessions, its my immense pleasure to

welcome you all to the ninth Session of the JK Model United Nations, or more

importantly to The General Assembly of JKMUN13.

As you all are well aware, the agenda for this years committee is related to terrorism.

Or precisely speaking, finding out the causes and motives behind their inhuman

actions, so as to understand them in a better way and device new and powerful ways

to tackle them. As stated earlier by your director, every action has a reason and here

we chose this forum to discuss on the same. Maybe well even be able to justify

terrorism, who knows!

Delegates, in the course of the committee, we wont be people belonging to a

particular nation. Our ideas and thoughts should not reflect those of a world divided

on communal lines, but of a world undivided by caste, creed or religion - The United

Nations. In the committee, we wont be fighting terrorism, we wont be looking for

new plans to tackle it, we simply would be putting ourselves into their shoes in order

to try and see the world from their perspective.

And having done all this, we aim to find the solution to a simple question, yet the one,

much debated over by all the nationsCan Terrorism be justified ?

Note: The Background Guide is just for reference and is strictly not to be used as a proof or as a document for the

conference.

With this we wish you the All the Best for the Conference!

Executive Board, JKMUN 13, UNGA ~

Akshita Kanwar Shubham Khanna Sudeepti Kadotra

(Director) (Chairperson) (Director)


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Committee background

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) is one of the six principal

organs of the United Nationsand the only one in which all member nations have

equal representation. Its powers are to oversee the budget of the United Nations,

appoint the non-permanent members to the Security Council, receive reports from

other parts of the United Nations and make recommendations in the form of General

Assembly Resolutions.It has also established a wide number of subsidiary organs.

The General Assembly meets under President or Secretary-General in regular yearlysessions the main part of which lasts from September to December and resumed part

from January until all issues are addressed (which often are just before the next

session's start). It can also reconvene for special and emergency special sessions. Its

composition, functions, powers, voting, and procedures are set out in Chapter IV of

the United NationsCharter.

Voting in the General Assembly on important questions

Recommendations on peace and security; election of members to organs;

admission, suspension, and expulsion of members; budgetary matters is by a two-

thirds majority of those present and voting. Other questions are decided by majority

vote. Each member country has one vote. Apart from approval of budgetary matters,including adoption of a scale of assessment, Assembly resolutions are not binding on

the members. The Assembly may make recommendations on any matters within the

scope of the UN, except matters of peace and security under Security Council

consideration. The one state, one votepower structure theoretically allows states

comprising just eight percent of the world population to pass a resolution by a two-

thirds vote. Although the resolutions passed by the General Assembly do not have

the binding forces over the member nations(apart from budgetary measures),

pursuant to its Uniting for Peaceresolution of November 1950 (resolution 377 (V)) ,

the Assembly may also take action if the Security Council fails to act, owing to the

negative vote of a member ,in a case where there appears to be a threat to the peace,

breach of the peace or act of aggression


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The adopted agenda drawn up by the Executive Board of the UNGA and approved by

the Secretary General shall be-

Aiming At World Peace by Comprehending the Causes and

Purposes behind Terrorism


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The AgendaTerrorist acts or the threat of such action have been in existence for millennia. As

terrorist threats remain high in many regions of the world, countering the appeal ofterrorism has emerged as a priority. Therefore during this year's committee session we

aim to find solution to a simple question, can terrorism be justified?

The world must respond and fight this evil that is intended on threatening and

destroying our basic freedoms and our way of life. Freedom and fear are at war.

The enemy is not one person. It is not a single political regime. Certainly it is not a

religion. The enemy is terrorismpremeditated, politically motivated violence

perpetrated against non-combatant targets by sub-national groups or clandestine

agents. Those who employ terrorism, regardless of their specific secular or religious

objectives, strive to subvert the rule of law and effect change through violence and

fear. These terrorists also share the misguided belief that killing, kidnapping,

extorting, robbing, and wreaking havoc to terrorize people are legitimate forms of

political action. The struggle against international terrorism is different from any other

war in our history.

We must fight terrorist networks, and all those who support their efforts to spread fear

around the world, using every instrument of national powerdiplomatic, economic,

law enforcement, financial, information, intelligence, and military.

Progress will come through the persistent accumulation of successessome seen,

some unseen. Countering this scourge of terrorism is in the interest of all nations and

has been the agenda of the United Nations for decades. Keeping this in mind, the

agenda for this years conference would be

Aiming at world peace by comprehending the causes and purposes behind terrorism"

The challenge of understanding terrorism is both, acknowledging the moral outrage at

terrorist acts, while at the same time, trying to understand the rationale behind

terrorism!


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Discussing the agenda

The worldwide public debate about terrorism that has gone on for more than a decade

now has involved mostly scholars with backgrounds in political science, international

relations, law, and public policy. Nonetheless, there isnt much agreement on any of

the main questions raised by terrorismconceptual, moral, or political. This is

understandable in view of some basic flaws of the debate. One is the lack of clarity

about what its subject is: just what is terrorism and who should count as a terrorist?

Perhaps inevitably, the debate has often been clouded by emotions, moral passions,

and political interests. Infested by moral relativism and double standards (us /

them, state use of force/insurgent terrorism), it has often led to talking at cross

purposes.

If we are to define terrorism in a way helpful to the moral and political debate, we

should put aside both the identity of those resorting to it and their ultimate political,

ideological, or religious aims. We should rather understand terrorism in terms of

just what is done and what the proximate aims of doing it are. Being agent-neutral,

the definition doesnt rule out state terrorism a phenomenon well known in modern

history, yet curiously ignored, or defined out of existence, in public debate. Indeed,

historically, the state has been the greatest terrorist. One major account of the

morality of terrorism is provided by consequentialism: terrorism, like everything else,

should be judged solely by consequences.

As Leon Trotsky famously said, given a paramount end, the question of the means

becomes one of expediency rather than principle. But surely it cant be right that life

and limb of innocent civilians is fair game whenever it is expedient that it should be

so. While terrorism is almost always unjustified from a moral perspective, under

specific, extreme conditions, terrorist acts may be defended on account of the moral

disaster they prevent or stop.

The agenda sought to find reasons as to why young people become terrorists. These

reasons might include looking for an identity; need for belonging; their own self built

perception of justice and injustice or sympathy with a group.


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Some Important Terrorist Groups ~- The Communist Party Of IndiaThe Communist Party of India (Maoist) is an ultra-leftist political party in

India which aims to overthrow the government of India through people's war.

It was founded on 21 September 2004, through the merger of the Communist

Party of India (MarxistLeninist) People's War(People's War Group), and

the Maoist Communist Centre of IndiaCommunist Centre of India (MCCI).

The merger was announced on 14 October the same year. In the merger a

provisional central committee was constituted, with the erstwhile People's

War Group leaderMuppala Lakshmana Rao, alias "Ganapathi", as general

secretary.

The CPI (Maoist) are often referred to as Naxalites. They have been charged

by the government with running an extortion economy in the guise of a

popular revolution, extorting vast amounts of money from local branches of

mining companies and other businesses. They have been involved in several

cases of blowing up schools and railway tracks, and accused of keeping the

areas under their control away from modernity and development, typically

the uneducated rural populace.

In 2006, Prime MinisterManmohan Singh referred to the Naxalites as "the

single biggest internal security challenge ever faced by our country.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maoist_Communist_Centre_of_Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maoist_Communist_Centre_of_Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maoist_Communist_Centre_of_Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maoist_Communist_Centre_of_Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maoist_Communist_Centre_of_Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maoist_Communist_Centre_of_Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maoist_Communist_Centre_of_Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muppala_Lakshmana_Raohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naxalitehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manmohan_Singhhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manmohan_Singhhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naxalitehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muppala_Lakshmana_Raohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maoist_Communist_Centre_of_Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maoist_Communist_Centre_of_Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maoist_Communist_Centre_of_Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maoist_Communist_Centre_of_Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maoist_Communist_Centre_of_Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maoist_Communist_Centre_of_Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maoist_Communist_Centre_of_Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maoist_Communist_Centre_of_Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maoist_Communist_Centre_of_India


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- HezbollahHezbollah is a Shia Islamic militant group and political party based

in Lebanon. Its paramilitary wing is regarded as a resistancemovement throughout much of the Arab and Muslim worlds, and is

considered more powerful than the Lebanese Army. It has taken the side of

the government in the Syrian civil war and in MayJune 2013 successfully

assisted in the recapture of the strategic town of Qusayr. The governments of

the U.S.,Netherlands, France, Gulf Cooperation Council, U.K., Australia,

Canada, the European Union and Israel classify Hezbollah as a terrorist

organization, in whole or in part.

Hezbollah was conceived by Muslim clerics and funded by Iran following

the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, and was primarily formed to offer resistance

to the Israeli occupation. Its leaders were followers of Ayatollah Khomeini,

and its forces were trained and organized by a contingent of 1,500 Iranian

Revolutionary Guards that arrived from Iran with permission from the Syrian

government. Hezbollah's 1985 manifesto listed its four main goals as "Israel's

final departure from Lebanon as a prelude to its final obliteration", ending

"any imperialist power in Lebanon", submission of the Phalangists to "just

rule" and bringing them to trial for their crimes, and giving the people the

chance to choose "with full freedom the system of government they want",

while not hiding its commitment to the rule of Islam.

Hezbollah receives military training, weapons, and financial support from

Iran, and political support from Syria. Following the end of the Israeli

occupation of South Lebanon in 2000, its military strength grew significantly.

Despite a June 2008 certification by the United Nations that Israel had

withdrawn from all Lebanese territory, in August, Lebanon's new Cabinet

unanimously approved a draft policy statement which secures Hezbollah's

existence as an armed organization and guarantees its right to "liberate or

recover occupied lands". Since 1992, the organisation has been headed

by Hassan Nasrallah, its Secretary-General.


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- Al-QaidaAl-Qaida is a global militant Islamist organization founded by Osama bin

Laden in Peshawar, Pakistan, at some point between August 1988 and late1989, with its origins being traceable to the Soviet War in Afghanistan. It

operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a

radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad and a strict

interpretation of Sharia law. It has been designated as a terrorist

organization by the United Nations Security Council, NATO, the European

Union, the United Kingdom, the United States. Al-Qaeda has carried out

many attacks on non-Sunni Muslims, non-Muslims, and other targets it

considers kafir.

Al-Qaeda has attacked civilian and military targets in various countries,

including the September 11 attacks, 1998 U.S. embassy bombings and the

2002 Bali bombings. The U.S. government responded to the September 11

attacks by launching the War on Terror. With the loss of key leaders,

culminating in the death of Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda's operations have

devolved from actions that were controlled from the top-down, to actions by

franchise associated groups, to actions of lone wolf operators.

Al-Qaeda is also responsible for instigating sectarian violence among

Muslims. Al-Qaeda is intolerant of non-Sunni branches of Islam and

denounces them by means of excommunications called "takfir". Al-Qaeda

leaders regard liberal Muslims, Shias, Sufis and other sects as heretics and

have attacked their mosques and gatherings. Examples of sectarian attacks

include the Yazidi community bombings, the Sadr City bombings, the

Ashourar Massacre and the April 2007 Baghdad bombings.


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- The Liberation Tigers of Tamil EelamThe Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam commonly known as the LTTE or the

Tamil Tigers was a separatist militant organisation that was based in

northern Sri Lanka. Founded in May 1976 by Velupillai Prabhakaran, it

waged a violent secessionist and nationalist campaign to create an

independent state in the north and east of Sri Lanka for Tamil people. This

campaign evolved into the Sri Lankan Civil War, which ran from 1983 until

2009, when the LTTE was defeated by the Sri Lankan Military.

At the height of its power, the LTTE possessed a well-developed militia and

carried out many high-profile attacks, including the assassinations of several

high-ranking Sri Lankan and Indian politicians. The LTTE was the only

separatist militant organisation to assassinate two world leaders: Sri Lankan

President Ranasinghe Premadasa in 1993 and former Indian Prime

Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991. Civilian massacres, suicide bombings and

acts of ethnic cleansing were integral parts of its pursuit to create

a monoethnic Tamil Eelam in response to the nationwide atrocities against

the Tamil population. The LTTE pioneered the use of suicide belts, and used

light aircraft in some of its attacks. As a result of its tactics, it is currently

proscribed as a terrorist organisation by 32 countries, including India, buthas support amongst some Tamils in Tamil Nadu in India.

However, University Teachers for Human Rights (Jaffna) alleges that the

LTTE has killed at least 8,000 fellow Tamils they accused of being traitors.

LTTE founder Velupillai Prabhakaran headed the organisation from its

inception until his death in 2009.

Over the course of the conflict, the Tamil Tigers frequently exchanged control

of territory in north-east Sri Lanka with the Sri Lankan military, with the two

sides engaging in fierce military confrontations. It was involved in four

unsuccessful rounds of peace talks with the Sri Lankan government over the

course of the conflict. At its peak in 2000, the LTTE was in control of 76% of

the landmass in the Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka.


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- The Real Irish Republican ArmyThe Real Irish Republican Army, otherwise known as the Real IRA (RIRA), is

an Irish republican paramilitary organisation which aims to bring about

a united Ireland. It formed in 1997 following a split in the Provisional IRA,

which had declared a ceasefire that year. Like the Provisional IRA before it,

the RIRA sees itself as the only rightful successor to the original Irish

Republican Army and styles itself as simply "the Irish Republican Army". It is

an illegal organisation in Ireland and designated as a terrorist organisation

in the United Kingdom and the United States.

Since its formation, the RIRA has waged a campaign in Northern

Ireland against the British Army and the Police Service of Northern

Ireland (PSNI), formerly the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC). The RIRA is

the biggest and most active of the "dissident republican"

paramilitaries operating againstthe British security forces. It has targeted the

security forces in gun attacks and bombings, as well as with

grenades, mortars and rockets. The organisation has also been responsible

for a number of bombings in Northern Ireland and England with the goal of

causing economic harm and/or disruption. The most notable of these was the

15 August 1998 Omagh bombing, which killed 29 people. After the bombing,the RIRA went on ceasefire, but began operations again in 2000. On 7 March

2009 RIRA members claimed responsibility for an attack on Massereene

Barracks that killed two British soldiers, the first to be killed in Northern

Ireland since 1997.

On 26 July 2012, it was reported that Republican Action AgainstDrugs (RAAD) and other independent republican paramilitary groups were

merging with the Real IRA. As before, the group continues to refer to itself as

"the Irish Republican Army".


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Funding Of TerrorismTerrorism financingcame into limelight in theUnited Statesafter theterrorist attacks

in the United States on the 11th September in 2001. The US Government passedtheUSA PATRIOT Actto, among other reasons, attempt thwarting the financingofterrorism(CFT) andanti-money laundering(AML) making sure these were given

some sort of adequate focus by US financial institutions. The act also

hadextraterritorialimpact and non-US banks having correspondent banking accountsor doing business with US banks had to upgrade their AML/CFT processes. The

Patriot Act has generated agreat deal of controversyin the United States since itsenactment.

Initially the focus of CFT efforts was on non-profit organizations, unregisteredmoneyservices businesses(MSBs) (including so called underground banking or Hawalas)and the criminalisation of the act itself. TheFinancial Action Task Force on Money

Laundering(FATF) made nine special recommendations for CFT (first eight then a

year later added a ninth). These nine recommendations have become the global

standard for CFT and their effectiveness is assessed almost always in conjunction

withAML.TheFATF Blacklist(the NCCT list) mechanism was used to coerce countries to bringabout change.


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Points to be ConsideredDelegates, we expect debating on the following points. However, additional topics are

also welcome to be debated over in the committee.

1. Difference between terrorists and freedom fighters

2. Finding a proper definition to terrorism

3. Understanding State Terrorism

4. Justification of Basic Human Rights while defending Terrorism

5. Justification of terrorism

6. Sources Of Funding

7. Governments stand on Terrorism and various laws

8. Discussion on various anti-terrorism policies, (e.g.POTA, AFSPA)

9. History of Various Terror Activities in the past.

10.Debate on the disputed clause of 2005 World Summit :

We strongly condemn terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,

committed by whomever, wherever and for whatever purposes, as it

constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and

security.

Documents

Background Guide UNGA